Hanoi news

Hanoi to crack down on fire safety violations

Developers of high-rise buildings that violate safety regulations will not be
eligible for future land allocation or land lease, according to the People’s
Committee of Hanoi.

This is part of bold measures adopted by Hanoi’s authorities to
deal with rampant fire safety violations in construction in the city.

Accordingly, the Hanoi Department of Fire Fighting and
Prevention was requested to co-ordinate with relevant agencies in supervising
the implementation of fire prevention requirements to ensure that projects
undergo fire safety test before being certified for operation.

The fire fighting department was also told to issue fines or
suspend the operation of high-rise buildings if necessary. The department will
propose to the local government to intervene by force if investors fail to
comply with fire safety regulations.

Investors who fail to comply or deliberately violate the fire
safety regulations will have their names publicised and residents will be
advised not to move into buildings without proper fire protection.

The Department of
Construction was asked to ensure dire safety issues are met before issuing
permits for construction and certificates of approval and occupancy.
Accordingly, no construction permit will be issued if the project designs have
not been approved by the Fire Prevention and Fighting Department; construction
projects won’t be allowed to operate if they fail fire safety tests.

The city’s Department of Justice was authorised to formulate
procedures in order to enforce the law in case of prolonged violations of fire
prevention regulations.

By May 31, 79
apartment buildings in Hanoi were found to be lacking in terms of fire safety
standards, after the Hanoi Fire Prevention and Fighting Police Department
conducted inspections at 8000 high-rise buildings in the city.

Of the buildings found
to violate fire safety standards, 78 did not have fire safety certificates
while one did not undergo a safety test.

According to the
department, many buildings that are considered luxury apartment blocks have
problems with fire safety issues.

Ha Dong district has
the highest number of such buildings with 21, followed by Bac Tu Liem, Thanh Xuan
and Hoang Mai districts with 10, 9, 8 respectively.-VNA